Thousands Protest in Amsterdam Over War11/09 06:08

   

   AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Tens of thousands of people, many of them dressed in red, 
marched through Amsterdam on Sunday in a mass demonstration aimed at pressing 
the Dutch government to take more decisive action against Israel over Gaza.

   The organizers of "Red Line" demonstrations in the Netherlands called for 
measures including stricter trade sanctions on Israel, officially declaring 
that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide and halting all arms sales to 
Israel.

   The Dutch branch of Amnesty International, one of the organizers, said in an 
online post that more than 200,000 people joined the march.

   "What is happening there is inhumane," Mike van Dongen said as he walked in 
the huge throng of people. He was critical of the Dutch government's actions. 
"As far as I'm concerned, they are doing nothing," he said. "They don't dare 
take any serious steps."

   As the protesters marched along a normally busy Amsterdam street that was 
closed to traffic on Sunday, a man stood on a bus stop with a loudspeaker 
shouting, "Free, free Palestine!" Many of the marchers echoes his cry as they 
passed.

   Israel strongly rejects suggestions it is committing genocide in Gaza in its 
military campaign that followed the attacks by Hamas-led militants in southern 
Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Militants killed around 1,200 people and took 251 
hostages. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed tens of thousands of 
Palestinians and destroyed much of Gaza.

   More than 1,550 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli 
military since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in October 2025, 
according to the territory's Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the 
Hamas-run government, doesn't distinguish between civilians and militants, 
though it says women and children make up roughly half the dead.

   The campaign in Gaza has strained relations between the Netherlands and 
Israel. The Dutch foreign minister resigned last year after failing to secure 
new sanctions against Israel.

   Since then, a new minority coalition government has taken power and 
introduced an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, which the Dutch 
government and most of the international community consider illegal, a move 
that provoked a diplomatic spat with Israel.

   Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who took part in a march last year but was not 
present on Sunday, defended his government's actions at his weekly press 
conference on Friday.

   "Every single day and every single week, we do what we can to alleviate the 
terrible situation there," he said. He added that his administration is 
"exerting greater political and diplomatic pressure" on Israel to abide by its 
agreements on Gaza. Simultaneously, he said, his government is applying more 
pressure on Hamas and other organizations that continue to carry out "various 
operations that endanger the safety of ordinary Israelis."